Clint Kirby

Clint Kirby

no

Clint Kirby is a young drummer from Norman, Oklahoma who plays for the funk rock band, Upon This Rock. Kirby is not only the drummer for Upon This Rock but he also is the current fill-in drummer for Distal (recently signed to TMG in Nashville) and works closely with singer/songwriter, Blake Marlow. Clint’s style can change from night to night depending on who he is playing with, ranging from hip hop, rock, or even light percussion, reminiscent of drummers such as: Josh Freese, Chris Pennie, and Cobus Potgieter. Kirby has had a busy couple months to start of 2011. Kirby kicked off the year by flying out to Knoxville to record his band’s album at Lakeside Studios. After he returned back to Oklahoma he played some hometown shows and in early February he began engineering Distal’s pre-production demo in his home studio. Clint grew up in a small family of hard workers. “For as long as I can remember my parents have always held multiple jobs at the same time”, says Clint. Although none of those jobs ever included being a musician, music was a popular topic around the Kirby house. Clint started playing drums at age 12, when his dad got a drum set for himself. After his first time to set behind the kit, he was hooked, devoting hours and hours every day to learning the techniques of his favorite drummers. Kirby soon began taking lessons from James Wyrick, a well-known and respected musician around Norman. After taking lessons for 2 years and receiving a good foundation in his techniques, Kirby quit his lessons and began diving into different genres of music and expanding his abilities. Though still young, Clint has had great success within the last couple years. In 2010 his band, Upon This Rock, won a spot on the New Band Showcase stage at Cornerstone Festival and received recognition for being one of the few bands to win. In 2011 his band was able to get into Lakeside Studios, with Grammy nominated producer, Travis Wyrick. His most recent accomplishment was receiving an endorsement from Soultone Cymbals. Clint’s career can characterized by one thing-hard work. At this point, Kirby continues to humbly move forward in his career, learning from everyone along the way.